Dax Lopez is a Latino Republican who was originally elevated to the bench by a GOP governor and subsequently nominated to a federal judgeship in Georgia by President Obama, reports Seung Min Kim.
You'd think Republicans might be interested in seizing this opportunity to extend at least one tiny little olive branch to Latinos after killing immigration reform, blocking Obama's immigration orders, and repeatedly taking show votes against undocumented immigrants. You'd think ...
Lopez has run afoul of Sen. David Perdue (R-Ga.), who's blocking him from a federal judgeship in the Northern District of Georgia, citing Lopez’s lengthy involvement with a nonpartisan Latino state group that has nonetheless taken liberal stances on immigration policy. Perdue’s home-state colleague Republican Sen. Johnny Isakson, isn’t giving his blessing, either.
But the White House isn’t backing down, declining to withdraw the nomination while moving to ratchet up pressure on Perdue to ease his blockade on Lopez, though Perdue says his decision is final. Had he been confirmed, Lopez would be the first Latino federal judge with a lifetime appointment in the Peach State.
No, sir. No can do, say GOP lawmakers. You may not be a liberal but you clearly aren't one of us.
The organization they are objecting to, btw, is the Georgia Association of Latino Elected Officials. For real, could GOP lawmakers get any more offensive?
“I’ve made my decision. I’m not going to reverse that decision,” Perdue said in a recent interview. “I think it’s the right thing to do to protect the integrity of the bench and the nomination process.”
Yep.